Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia plans to mobilize 300,000 new military personnel by June 1, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
He stated this at a joint press conference with the President of Finland Alexander Stubb in Kyiv.
"I can say that Russia is preparing to mobilize 300,000 soldiers by June 1," Zelensky said.
At the same time, he noted that Ukraine now does not need the induction of 500,000 soldiers into the army, as was discussed at an earlier stage. After an audit carried out by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Sirsky, it was estimated that the army does not need half a million new recruits at this stage.
Zelensky expressed gratitude to Sirski for this audit and added that "the appropriate number of people who are not at the front will be sent there". But the president did not mention the number of people Kiev plans to mobilize this year. He said he's not ready to say exactly that yet.